Jonathan Rea unstoppable as he dominates Donington Park FP2

A class apart - Jonathan Rea was in ominous form as he finished WorldSBK FP2 at Donington Park half a second clear of Toprak Razgatlioglu.
Jonathan Rea, Donington Park Kawasaki WorldSBK
Jonathan Rea, Donington Park Kawasaki WorldSBK

Fastest in FP1, Razgatlioglu pushed hard from the outset of FP2 as he produced another ‘Toprak’ moment on the brakes.

As he braked for the final corner, the rear tyre of Razgatlioglu’s Yamaha lifted off the ground, only for the Turkish star to recover and make the turn. 

Despite Razgatlioglu’s impressive skills being put to the test, leading the way was again Rea as the six-time WorldSBK champion initially set a pace no one else could match. 

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The Kawasaki rider immediately went quicker than Razgatlioglu’s FP1 time thanks to a 1:27.355s - close to six tenths clear of Scott Redding. 

Axel Bassani encountered trouble in sector one as a mistake left the Italian needing to avoid crashing in the gravel. 

With Rea looking dominant once again, the Northern Irishman’s main title rivals Razgatlioglu and series leader Alvaro Bautista were unable to present a meaningful challenge during the early stages.  

As was the case in FP1, Michael Rinaldi appeared to be a match for Bautista for the first time this season. The Italian went third fastest, one spot ahead of Bautista. 

Getting his braking right into the final corner, Razgatlioglu finally started showing the type of pace that could make him a potential race winner this weekend.

Toprak Razgatlioglu, Donington WorldSBK, 15 July
Toprak Razgatlioglu, Donington WorldSBK, 15 July

Razgatlioglu was the first rider to get within half a second of Rea after setting a time of 1:27.567s - +0.212s off the KRT rider.

Not the first rider to get angry whilst following Philipp Oettl, Razgatlioglu was seen hitting his helmet on several occasions with his left hand shortly after making the overtake on the German. 

But unlike Iker Lecuona in FP1, it appeared as though Razgatlioglu was frustrated at himself and not with the Ducati rider. 

Enduring a similar off-track moment as Bassani did, Lucas Mahias had a heart-in-mouth situation as he ran through the gravel at turn eight. 

As Redding joined Razgatlioglu in reducing Rea’s advantage over the rest of the field, Bautista was the next to improve as he went fourth quickest. 

Alvaro Bautista, Donington WorldSBK, 15 July
Alvaro Bautista, Donington WorldSBK, 15 July

Only a tenth down after three sectors, the Spaniard lost almost four tenths in the final part of the track. 

With the final flurry of laps underway, Alex Lowes jumped up to fourth place before Rea cemented his lead at the front by setting a time of 1:27.016s - again going half a second clear of the field. 

There was a late crash for Rinaldi as the Aruba.it Ducati rider took a tumble at the final corner. 

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